Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 53: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children with mild or borderline general learning disability within mainstream primary education; the number of children within mainstream primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7893/05]

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 72: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children with mild or borderline general learning difficulties within mainstream primary education who are in receipt of resource teaching hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7891/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 72 together.

The number of children within the primary education system is in the region of 446,000 pupils and increasing. Arising from the census of special needs provision undertaken by my Department towards the end of 2003, there were 4,527 pupils within the mild general learning disability range, and 2,450 within the borderline mild general learning disability range. In general, this pupil cohort would be eligible for resource teaching support. The census was undertaken in 2003 to ensure that up to date information on children with special educational needs was available to the Department. The establishment of the National Council for Special Education will be of great assistance in ensuring that such information is available on an ongoing basis in the future.

The scale of resource allocation in recent years has facilitated the provision of education for children with special needs, including those with mild or borderline mild general learning disabilities, in mainly mainstream national schools. However, education for children with special educational needs is provided in a variety of settings. For children for whom mainstream provision is not appropriate, placement may be made in one of the 30 special schools and the 289 special classes catering for pupils with mild general learning disability located throughout the country. These classes have a pupil teacher ratio of 11:1.

In 1998, the Government took a decision that has transformed the level of provision for pupils with special educational needs, including those with mild and borderline mild general learning disabilities. Pupils with such needs would be entitled to an automatic response to meet those needs and the allocation of resources to meet those needs no longer depended, as it had in the past, on the limited resources that were available to meet those needs.

In light of the reality that pupils in the high incidence disability categories of mild and borderline mild general learning disability and dyslexia are distributed throughout the education system, my Department, in consultation with educational interests aims to introduce a general allocation model. It is hoped to have an outcome in the next few weeks.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In answer to a parliamentary question I received a response from the Minister stating that a child would be dealt with under the new weighted system when it comes into being next September. Will children with specific learning disabilities lose the two and a half hours per week they currently have? I ask the Minister to give serious consideration to the point that if a child with a mild or borderline disability is given the assistance he or she requires at the time they need it, he or she may require significantly less assistance in the longer term. If they do not receive what is required now, does the Minister appreciate that in the long term they will require a greater investment? When considering the weighted system I ask the Minister to give consideration to that fact and to ensure that the children receive the assistance they require. It is important that persons with a low incidence of disability are also given what they require but one sector cannot be favoured at the expense of ignoring almost 7,000 children in the other sector. Children under that system will lose out.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is certainly not the intention to ignore such children. Those children will be included in an allocation that will ensure that resource teaching will be available in the school even before the child joins the school. This is to avoid a child having to wait until first or second class or even beyond before a need might be identified. Resource teaching will be available in the school as soon as the teacher notes that extra assistance might be needed by a child. The aim, therefore, is to arrive at a position in which need will be targeted recognising that a percentage of the population, estimated to be around 3%, needs specific allocation, while approximately 10% of the populace is acknowledged to have learning difficulties in literacy and numeracy.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Does the Minister intend to increase the number of resource teachers? While I am aware that an additional 350 resource teachers are working in the education sector this year, the system cannot possibly work as she envisages with current resource teacher numbers. Does she envisage that more resource teachers will enter the system next September?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As I indicated, 2,600 extra resource teachers entered the system in recent years. A further 350 were assigned under this model and the Department is determining whether more will be needed. At the same time as reducing class sizes, as Deputies and others ask me to do, we must ensure this issue is addressed and it will be a priority.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I do not have figures to hand. The 3% figure to which I referred relates to the specific high incidence group. The task force on dyslexia recognised that the teacher, in the first instance, would identify a need and refer a child to a learning support in the school. If this did not work, the teacher would call in a NEPS psychologist to evaluate what further needs should be met. The matter will be tackled in the first instance through learning support.

In addition to 2,600 resource teachers, 1,500 learning support teachers work in our schools. With this kind of allocation, we should be able to meet the more general needs of our children, while the needs of children with high incidence needs will continue to be addressed separately.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Is the Minister aware that some parents of children with disabilities continue to experience problems enrolling their children? Families of children with autism, in particular, are encountering major difficulty obtaining places in primary school.

We all welcome the targeting of resources on the most needy, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Is it not time to move on to support children with disabilities in the broader school system? Does the Minister accept that every child only gets one shot at the education system and needs must, therefore, be provided for at an early age?

Is the Minister aware that many teachers complain about the bureaucracy associated with learning supports? For example, teachers are pulled out of classrooms to attend meetings and case conferences, with the result that service for children with disability is diminished.

As regards the figure of 1,500 learning support teachers, will a plan be produced in the coming years to determine the effect of these additional resources on pupils with disabilities in mainstream primary schools?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Deputy Finian McGrath for his interest in this issue. I am not aware of specific complaints about children not being able to gain access to primary schools. Under section 29 of the Act, parents can appeal to the Department if their children are refused enrolment. Parents need to be aware of this provision because our aim is to ensure that those who want their children in mainstream education are facilitated. Resources have been available for this purpose, which is the reason that, in addition to the teachers to whom I have referred, we have 6,000 special needs assistants in the system. They will benefit the children in question and help them with their work.

The Deputy referred to bureaucracy. This arises from the requirement that children undergo individual psychological assessments, which is precisely what we are trying to avoid. Teachers will be in place before a child even attends school so that as soon as a need is identified a child can be referred to the learning support teacher or resource teacher. This will reduce bureaucracy, form filling and cost for teachers and parents who under the current arrangement must have an individual assessment carried out.

A further significant change has been the appointment of special education needs organisers, SENOs, who are already working with schools. In recent months parents have informed me that the SENOs are making a real difference by acting as a link between schools, parents and the other services. I am confident the Special Education Council will make even more progress in this respect. It will be part of its remit to evaluate progress, particularly in light of the allocations made for staffing, which are of major importance. All Deputies recognise that small class sizes are pointless unless linked to teaching methods.

As our understanding advances and various programmes are developed, the area of special needs will have to be constantly evaluated. This will be a task of the Special Education Council and its conclusions will feed into our understanding.